Paper rack and cutter

ABSTRACT

This disclosure concerns a paper cutting tool combined with a paper rack. The paper rack is constructed of horizontal and vertical members welded at their junctures into a rectangular frame. A plurality of rolls of paper are supported in the rack parallel to one side of the frame. The paper cutter is removably mounted on the rack adjacent one of the rolls of paper. A guide comprising a cutter bar and a guide bar disposed in spaced parallel relationship is provided to guide a cutter assembly. The cutter assembly has a body with a downwardly projecting tail, a circular cutting wheel rotatably mounted on the body, and a support wheel, also supported rotatably mounted on the body, in running alignment with and spaced relationship to the cutter wheel. The tail of the body is located between the cutting wheel and support wheel and projects downwardly therefrom between the cutter bar and guide bar. A compression spring and washer hold the cutter assembly on the guide with the cutter wheel located between the bars and the support wheel in running engagement on the guide bar.

United States Patent Lloyd V. Jones P. O. Box 383, Riverbank, Calif. 95367 [2]] Appl. No, 734,327

[22] Filed June 4, 1968 [45] Patented Feb. 9, 1971 [72] Inventor [54] PAPER RACK AND CU'l'l'ER 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

52 L.S.Cl 83/485, 83/560, 83/614, 83/650 51 lnt.Cl ugggg/pg 1 651 12 50 FieldofSearch 83/614,

Assistant ExaminerLeon Gilden Attorney-Vergil L. Gerard ABSTRACT: This disclosure concerns a paper cutting tool combined with a paper rack. The paper rack is constructed of horizontal and vertical members welded at their junctures into a rectangular frame. A plurality of rolls of paper are supported in the rack parallel to one side of the frame. The paper cutter is removably mounted on the rack adjacent one of the rolls of paper. A guide comprising a cutter bar and a guide bar disposed in spaced parallel relationship is provided to guide a cutter assembly. The cutter assembly has a body with a downwardly projecting tail, a circular cutting wheel rotatably mounted on the body, and a support wheel, also supported rotatably mounted on the body, in running alignment with and spaced relationship to the cutter wheel. The tail of the body is located between the cutting wheel and support wheel and projects downwardly therefrom between the cutter bar and guide bar. A compression spring and washer hold the cutter assembly on the guide with the cutter wheel located between the bars and the support wheel in running engagement on the guide bar.

PATENTED FEB 9197:

LLOYD v. JONES IN V5 N 70/? ,4 TTORNEV PAPER RACK AND CUTTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the past, constr'irction paper has been supplied to art classes and the like, cut to a particular size. It has been found. however, that using such paper cut to size causes considerable waste since the size is often larger or smaller than desired for a particular purpose. It has, therefore, been found desirable to have available, paper which can be cut more nearly to the size required. This has been accomplished by having the paper supplied in rolls of various colors portably mounted on a rack for easy access. The desired length and color of paper can then be pulled from a particular roll and severed to the desired size. Heretofore, the severing of paper so provided has been awkward and somewhat unsatisfactory, however, since it was found difficult to make a straight, clean cut with hand scissors, and a straight edge tear often resulted in a rough and sometimes crooked tear edge.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is, therefore, a major object of this invention to provide a paper cutter for use with a rack of various colored rolls of construction paper which permits a straight, clean severance of the paper.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a paper cutter of the type described that is simple and quick to operate.

A further object of the invention is to provide a paper cutter of the type described that can conveniently be selectively moved into cutting position with any one of the plurality of rolls of paper mounted in a paper rack.

Another object is to provide a paper cutter of the type described in which the action between the knife edges is so situated that there is no danger to the operator.

Still a further object of the invention is to provide a paper cutter of the type described which is inexpensive to manufacture and requires a minimum of maintenance.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment and the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is aperspective view of a paper rack with rolls of colored paper ready to be dispensed, showing the paper cutter of my invention mounted on one side in cutting relationship to a sheet of paper from one of the rolls;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of one comer of the paper rack with the end of the guide of my paper cutter in mounting position;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of my paper cutter with the cutting bar and guide bar of the guide shown fragmentarily;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the mechanism shown FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an end view of my paper cutter taken on line 5-5 in FIG. 4 with the cutter bar and guide bar shown in cross section; and

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view of the paper cutter taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PARTS with wheels 24 for easy portability.

A plurality of rolls of colored construction paper 26 are mounted in the paper rack 14 on horizontal shafts disposed in -J vertic'al tiers on each side of the paper rack between the horizontal frame members 20. With the rolls of paper so mounted in the paper rack, a length of paper may be conveniently pulled from any of the rolls and cut to any convenient length by my paper cutter 10.

As best shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the guide I2 of the paper cutter 10 comprises a cutter bar 28 and a guide bar 30. The cutter bar 28 and guide bar 30 are held in spaced parallel relationship by means of end plates 32 secured to the opposite ends of the bars. The guide 12 is adapted to be selectively located adjacent to any one of the rolls of paper mounted in the paper rack 14 by means of hooks 36 which are affixed near each end of the guide 12 and attach the guide to the rack 14. The hooks 36 are U-shapedand are positioned on the guide 12 opening outwardly to engage and receive the flanges 18 of corner members 16 and rest upon the inwardly extended flange 22 of the adjacent horizontal frame members 20 when the guide 12 is disposed substantially horizontally (see FIG. 2). The hooks are manually releasable from the comer members 16 by raising one end of the guide 12 until the guide reaches a diagonal position between the comer members sufficient to disengage the flange 18 from the hooks 36. The cutter may then be transferred to another position in the rack and again mounted between the corner members.

The cutter bar 28 and the guide bar 30 are both formed from elongated angled members having horizontal inwardly extended legs 38 and vertical legs 40, and are positioned with their vertical legs equally spaced apart throughout their length. The angled members forming the cutter bar 28 and guide bar 30 are made of a hardened metal with flat, straight upper surfaces 42 and 44 and sharpened right angle junctions 46 and 48, respectively. When the guide 12 is mounted adjacent a roll of paper, the upper surfaces 42 and 44 of the cutter bar 28 and the guide bar 30 provide means on which the cutting portion of the tool rides.

The cutter assembly 50 consists of a carriage formed from sheet metal unto a U-shaped body 52. To provide a movable cutting edge, a cutter assembly 50 is mounted on the guide 12. The U-shaped carriage body 52 opens downwardly and has a tail portion 54 extended downwardly therefrom. A cutting wheel 56 is rotatably mounted in the body 52 on one side of the tail portion 52 by means of an axle 58. The cutting wheel 56 has a beveled periphery 60 which terminates outwardly in a circular cutting edge 62. The cutting wheel 56 is thicker than the spacing between the cutter bar 28 and the guide bar 30, and is adapted to roll with a flat face 63, adjacent to the cutting edge 62, riding against the vertical leg 40 of the cutter bar 28 and the beveled periphery 60 riding against the sharpened junction 48 of the guide bar 30 as the cutter assembly 50 is moved along the guide 12. A support wheel 64 is rotatably mounted in the carriage body 52 on an axle 66 in a position rearward of the tail portion 54 from the cutting wheel 56 and in tracking alignment therewith.

As shown most clearly in FIG. 6, the tail portion 54 on the carriage body 52 is longitudinally and centrally embossed to form a central rim 68 so that the thickness of the tail portion is increased by the embossed portion to slightly less than the spacing between the vertical legs 40 of the cutter bar 28 and the guide bar 30 and thus provides means for guiding the carriage body 52 as it is moved along the guide 12.

In order to assemble the cutter assembly 50 onto the guide 12, a washer 72 circumscribes the tail portion 54 so that it contacts the bottom edges of the vertical legs 40 of the cutter bar 28 and the guide bar 30. A helical compression spring 74 circumscribes the tail portion 54 just below the washer 72 and is held in place by a second washer 76 which engages the lower end of the spring 74 and a cotter pin 78.

As best seen in FIGS. 3 and 6, the carriage body 52 is twisted slightlyrelative to the tail portion 54 and since the tail portion is closely fitted between the vertical legs 40 of cutter bar 28 and guide bar 30, the carriage body 52 moves at this angular attitude along the guide 12. The cutting wheel 56 is thus oriented to an angular position whereby the cutting edge 62 is directed into contact with the sharpened junction 46 of the cutter bar 28 at one point only to provide a shearing action to paper disposed on the guide. The angular positioning of the carriage body 52 relative to the guide 12 also positions the support wheel 64 so that it rides on the upper surface 44 of the guide bar 30.

OPERATlON To use my paper cutter on the paper rack 14 provided with rolls of colored construction paper. the guide 12 is mounted at the desired location. adjacent the roll from which a section of paper is desired, by engaging hooks 36 with the comer members 18 as previously described. The cutter bar 28 and the guide bar 30 are thus mounted horizontally adjacent the roll with the cutter assembly 50 located at one end thereof. A length of paper is then drawn from the roll across the guide 12 with the desired length to be cut extended outwardly beyond the junction 46 of the cutter bar. With the paper held at this position, the cutter assembly 50 is moved across the guide 12, shearing the paper as it moves. With the carriage body 52 angularly oriented as described, the sharpened cutting edge 62 of cutting wheel 56 moves along the sharpened junction 46 cutting the paper between the two edges. The rolling action of both the cutting wheel 56 and the support wheel 64 permits the cutter to move with almost frictionless action across the guide 12. Since the periphery of the cutting wheel 56 is sharpened to an angle of about 60 and the junction 46 of the cutter bar 28 is sharpened to a 90 angle, the meeting of these two sharpened surfaces presents minimal danger to the hands of the operator.

From the foregoing detailed description of a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that l have provided a very effective and versatile cutting tool for severing sheets of construction paper from a rack of paper rolls. It will also be understood, of course, that the cutting tool could be used as well on a single paper roll or for cutting sheets of paper into smaller sections. Though my paper cutter is particularly useful with construction paper, it is not limited to this use but will serve as well on other types of paper or sheet materials with similar characteristics.

As illustrated by the above description, the important features of my paper cutter are its effective shearing action provided by the frustoconical periphery of the cutting wheel and its angular disposition with respect to the cutting bar edge, its ease of operation resulting from the rolling contact along the guide under spring tension, and its safety in use.

It will thus be seen that my invention is fully capable of obtaining the objects and providing advantages heretofore attributed to it; however, it should also be understood that I do not mean to limit myself to the particular details describedexcept as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A paper cutter for cutting a length of paper from a roll supported in a paper rack, comprising:

guide means having a cutter bar disposed adjacent and parallel to the axis of said roll, said guide means including a cutter bar having a sharpened upper and inner comer, a guide bar disposed in spaced relationship with and parallel to said cutter bar and having an upper comer directed toward said cutter bar and an upper flat surface;

a cutting tool movable along said guide means, said cutting tool including a body with a downwardly extended guide member, a support wheel rotatably mounted on said body. and assembly means on said guide member disposed to resiliently urge said body downwardly toward said cutter bar and upper flat surface of said guide bar in slight angular disposition thereto; and

cutting means operatively associated with said guide means and said cutting tool and disposed to cooperate with said cutter bar to shear paper disposed on said guide means as the cutting tool is moved therealong, said cutting means including a cutting wheel having a flat radial surface and a frustroconical periphery with a sharpened peripheral edge formed ther'ebetween, said cutting wheel being rotatably mounted on said body with the periphery of said cutting wheel disposed between said cutter bar and said guide bar and said flat radial surface directed into shearing engagement with said cutter bar sharpened upper and inner comer while said frustoconical surface rests upon said flat surface of said guide bar for travel therealong. 2. A paper cutter for cutting a length of paper from a roll supported in a paper rack, comprising:

guide means having a cutter bar disposed adjacent and parallel to the axis of the roll, said guide means including an inwardly and upwardly directed sharpened edge portion on said cutter bar and a guide bar disposed parallel thereto;

a cutting tool movable along said guide means, said cutting tool including a housing having support means disposed to movably support said housing on said guide bar, a tail portion fitted between said cutter bar and said guide bar and disposed at an angle thereto, and resilient means disposed operatively associated with said tail portion and disposed to hold said support means on said guide bar at an angular disposition with respect thereto; and

cutting means operatively associated with said guide means and said cutting tool and disposed to cooperate with said cutter bar to shear paper disposed on said guide means as said cutting tool is moved therealong, said cutting means including a cutting wheel rotatably mounted in said cutting tool housing and having a flattened face and a frustoconical periphery with a sharpened circular edge disposed in shearing engagement with said sharpened cutting edge of said cutter bar at a single point.

3. A paper cutter as described in claim 2 in which:

said guide bar is disposed in parallel spaced relationship with said cutter bar, and said cutter bar has a sharpened edge directed upwardly and toward said guide bar;

said cutting tool has a support wheel rotatably mounted in said housing axially normal to said guide means and on one side of said tail portion, said tail portion and housing being angled relative to each other whereby said housing is disposed at a slight angle with respect to said guide means; and

said cutting wheel of said cutting means is rotatably mounted in said cutting tool housing axially parallel to and on the opposite side of said tail portion from said support wheel. 

1. A paper cutter for cutting a length of paper from a roll supported in a paper rack, comprising: guide means having a cutter bar disposed adjacent and parallel to the axis of said roll, said guide means including a cutter bar having a sharpened upper and inner corner, a guide bar disposed in spaced relationship with and parallel to said cutter bar and having an upper corner directed toward said cutter bar and an upper flat surface; a cutting tool movable along said guide means, said cutting tool including a body with a downwardly extended guide member, a support wheel rotatably mounted on said body, and assembly means on said guide member disposed to resiliently urge said body downwardly toward said cutter bar and upper flat surface of said guide bar in slight angular disposition thereto; and cutting means operatively associated with said guide means and said cutting tool and disposed to cooperate with said cutter bar to shear paper disposed on said guide means as the cutting tool is moved therealong, said cutting means including a cutting wheel having a flat radial surface and a frustroconical periphery with a sharpened peripheral edge formed therebetween, said cutting wheel being rotatably mounted on said body with the periphery of said cutting wheel disposed between said cutter bar and said guide bar and said flat radial surface directed into shearing engagement with said cutter bar sharpened upper and inner corner while said frustoconical surface rests upon said flat surface of said guide bar for travel therealong.
 2. A paper cutter for cutting a length of paper from a roll supported in a paper rack, comprising: guide means having a cutter bar disposed adjacent and parallel to the axis of the roll, said guide means including an inwardly and upwardly directed sharpened edge portion on said cutter bar and a guide bar disposed parallel thereto; a cutting tool movable along said guide means, said cutting tool including a housing having support means disposed to movably support said housing on said guide bar, a tail portion fitted between said cutter bar and said guide bar and disposed at an angle thereto, and resilient means disposed operatively associated with said tail portion and disposed to hold said support means on said guide bar at an angular disposition with respect thereto; and cutting means operatively associated with said guide means and said cutting tool and disposed to cooperate with said cutter bar to shear paper disposed on said guide means as said cutting tool is moved therealong, said cutting means including a cutting wheel rotatably mounted in said cutting tool housing and having a flattened face and a frustoconical periphery with a sharpened circular edge disposed in shearing engagement with said sharpened cutting edge of said cutter bar at a single point.
 3. A paper cutter as described in claim 2 in which: said guide bar is disposed in parallel spaced relationship with said cutter bar, and said cutter bar has a sharpened edge directed upwardly and toward said guide bar; said cutting tool has a support wheel rotatably mounted in said housing axially normal to said guide means and on one side of said tail portion, said tail portion and housing being angled relative to each other whereby said housing is disposed at a slight angle with respect to said guide means; and said cutting wheel of said cutting means is rotatably mounted in said cutting tool housing axially parallel to and on the opposite side of said tail portion from said support wheel. 